Today, and possibly next week too, I am going to focus on a familiar topic - my dogs. I think this may be useful though, so do not discount it because it goes in a odd direction at the beginning.
My dogs run to the edge of our fence every day when I come home. They run to the edge of the fence when I leave in the mornings. They even run too the edge of the fence when I walk up the drive way to the mail box. They know my car, they know my habits, and they know me. They know my wife and her habits as well as they know mine. They even know my neighbor's habits, as they run to the fence when the neighbor is out in their backyard every morning with their dog letting her do her business.
If they do not know you they will bark like machines of death. If you did not know they were gentle, I am sure you would think they would rip you a part. If my wife and I are not there to tell them it is ok they will just bark, growl and nip like they are attack dogs. Honestly they would protect the place if we were not home, so that is good thing since we both work. We actually view our dogs at the first line of home defense before you get to the doors and windows which are protected by a security system. Now back to the dogs. Once they get to know you though, once they learn to trust you, etc, you can walk down the hill and pet them, but that takes time and knowledge of both you and them for their true nature to come out.
As well as they know me, my wife, our neighbors, a few close friends, and all our habits, they still get confused sometimes. Once my neighbor was in his backyard with his dog and they could not see him, they just heard him. They went crazy, banging the fence, and growling like they were going to come over the fence and kill him. Several times I have gone out my front door and they have not seen me, they just hear me in the front yard or on the drive way, and they react the same way, like vicious killers and they sound like they are ready to kill me. One time I was coming home late, and my wife had the dogs upstairs in our bedroom. They did not hear the garage door, or did not realize it was below them, all they heard was me coming up the steps. Much to my wife’s pleasure, they immediately began growling and sounded like they would kill me as soon as I came through the door.
In each of the above situations - the neighbor next door, me unseen in the drive way, and me coming in unheard when they are upstairs- the problem was solved very simply. I spoke. My voice is known to my dogs. When they mis identify me, or someone they know, the mere sound of a voice that they know restores them to their normal docile selves. The voice of their masters is known to them, and when they hear it their response is no longer one of anger and fear but one of love.
My wife will tell you that if I had not spoken too them before I came through the bedroom door that they would have likely jumped me. They were afraid, they thought their mom was in danger, and they did know what was on the other side of the door. My simple words - "Hey boys how you doing.", before entering, reassured them.
My thought today is how I need to learn to respond to my masters voice the same way my dogs respond to mine. Even if I am afraid, or when I think that danger is near, the voice of my master should calm me and reassure me that it is ok.
Like my dogs responding to me, when I clearly see God, His way, and His will I typically respond well. The problems come at those times when I misunderstand God's will, when I am unsure of His call, or when unwilling to hear from God. That last problem is one of rebellion and revolt and it unfortunately arises in all of our lives at times. The common thread in all of those times is that I am no longer acting on what I know, I am now reacting to what I think I know, and that is normally wrong. Like my dogs at night, at times like this my sight is obscured by something. What I sense is wrong, and when I react based on just MY senses it is wrong. Those are really the times that master's voice must be listened for, and heard at it's most clear, as only His pure and true voice can resolve the issue.
If I hear His voice then I know that all is well, that I am safe, that He is in control and that it will end well for me. Unfortunately, sometimes we all get so caught up in our feelings, or the action of the moment, that we fail to correctly hear and recognize the presence of our master. It is in those times that He has to speak directly to us. These are the times when we must CLEARLY know what He wants, because His mere presence or existence is not sufficient at the time to direct us.
It is amazing to me how much God has taught me about obedience, attitude, and action / reaction via my dogs. I hope this did not sound too stupid when you read it, and I promise there is a good lesson taught to me by God here. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.
Stay strong, be courageous, and serve God in all things.
